Here’s to a Fresh START

We’ve all experienced times in our life when we’ve been tempted to give up. For example, it’s easy to get discouraged when you try something and it doesn’t work out the way you expected it to.

But God doesn’t want us to get stuck in a moment in our lives when things didn’t work out the way we planned. He wants us to keep going so we can fulfill His purpose and truly enjoy our lives.

John 10:10 (ESV) says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” God has a great life planned for us, but too often we allow the enemy to steal our joy by causing us to focus on our past.

In order to live the wonderful lives that God planned for us, we need to leave our past behind and press forward. We need to get unstuck.

The devil would love for us to believe that, “I’ve made too many mistakes,” “There’s no way to overcome the mess I have made of my life,” “I’m too old,” or “It’s just too late.” But the truth is this: Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you’ve been through, it is never too late to begin again.

I had a lousy start in my own life. My father sexually and verbally abused me for many years, and it caused me a lot of pain and sadness. Yet God not only restored what was stolen from me, He made my new life in Him better than I ever could have imagined!

It’s been a long journey, but I can honestly say that now I love my life and I’m determined to have a great finish.

New Beginnings

God’s Word is filled with examples of people who were given a fresh start…

A woman known only as “Rahab the harlot” was rescued and given a noble name in the bloodline of Christ.

Ashamed because he gave in to fear and denied that he knew Jesus, Peter was forgiven and inspired to preach at Pentecost.

Paul was caught in a trap of dead religion, persecuting the early Christians. However, God transformed him and called him to write much of the New Testament.

God loves new beginnings! And He has a fresh start for you too, if you’ll spend time in His Word and let the Holy Spirit guide you.

Life in Christ is a fresh start. The truth is, the greatest new beginning any of us can have is becoming a new creature in Christ.

Second Corinthians 5:17 (AMP) says, “If anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].”

However, it’s important to understand that growing in Christ is a process that takes time. We learn how to walk by faith little by little, one step at a time.

It’s like this: When babies are learning how to walk, they fall down many times. But they always get back up and try again. And that’s what God is asking us to do.

No matter how many times we fall down in life, if we continue to get back up, eventually we’re going to get to the place where we need to be. God will lead us to the best life we can possibly have, but first we must let go of our past mistakes.

Forgiving AND Forgetting

Hebrews 8:12 (NIV) says, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” God chooses to not only forgive all of our sins, but also to forget them!

We need to stop remembering what God has forgotten. You’re no surprise to Him. There’s not a thing about me or you or anybody else that He doesn’t know. Yet, when we turn to Him, He still opens His arms and invites us into a relationship with Him.

Our history is not our destiny, but it is very important because it teaches us what works in our lives and what doesn’t work. This is how we learn to hear God’s voice speaking to our hearts and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

God loves you, and His plans for you are “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV). So refuse to remain stuck in a moment or season of your life when things didn’t work out as you thought they should.

You can have the life He’s promised if you’ll let go of your past and press on in your relationship with Him. Remember that He will never give up on you!